New Yixing Teapot
Hey All!
I am now a proud owner of a ‘Clear Bell’ Yixing teapot that I purchased from Mandala. Garret is the bomb and I love the teapot. It’s going to be used for shou only. Not getting crazy with age of shou, etc. but just a general shou pot. Garret as usual was kind enough to send over some samples and in this case he sent some seasoning samples. Have a quick question. Can anyone point me in the direction of either an article or just some general insight from the community regarding caring for the teapot? I followed Verdant Tea’s seasoning method (boil for 5-10 and season in tea until room temp). It still smells a bit mineral(y) and was wondering if this is normal? I’m sure it is, but just would like others opinions. There’s no sediment remaining, but just a natural clay odor I suppose. Also, I’m assuming all tea leaves need to be removed from the teapot after use (common sense to prevent mold), and was wondering if it’s normal to simply remove the tea leaves and rinse the remaining out with some hot water. Always used gaiwans, but already love this addition! Thanks!
Don’t leave leaves in for over 24 hours, never use soap, occasionally rub out the inside with your finger and warm/hot water and just use it regularly. Enjoy!
A good soft boil in tea starts them out pretty good. There will be some mineral in there as well. Just remove the leaves when you are done and rinse with hot water. Boiling is good because the teapot will dry quicker with the hotter water. Always make sure it is dry inside before putting the lid on.
The best thing about it is the pot is a real Yixing. No eBay knock off so the pot will journey as you do.
Awesome, thanks! Learned that I shouldn’t put the lid back on until it’s dry, so this is already useful! Also, rub the outside with warm/hot water. Using it regularly will not be an issue! Thanks!
The minerals in the clay will take the edge off some storage flavors in the tea, smoothing it out a bit. If you have high mineral content in your water already, the pot will be too much for green, white or other delicate teas. But for shou puerh, should be fine all the time.
The one thing to remember about a Yixing teapot is it absorbs all flavors put in it. Therefore don’t clean it with soap, just clean with very hot water. This is also why it needs to be dedicated to one type of tea.
I don’t boil my pots. Just rinse with boil water couple times and it’s good to go. I don’t soak my pots in tea or tea leaves. My pots are seasoning nicely naturally and getting nice patina.
i always rinse the inside of my pot (after removing a majority of the leaves) with the last brew.
leave the lid off (or atleast cracked open) until completely dry. you dont want mold in your clay.
the more you use it the better it will get. have fun,
An alternate method for seasoning a pot is very simple and doesn’t risk breaking anything is as follows. Rinse the pot with boiling water. Make and discard three rounds of tea. Discard the final round of tea. Your pot is now basically seasoned. This method was suggested to me by a seller of yixing teapots. On the other hand another seller of yixing teapots recommended boiling in tea. I have used both methods. I have yet to break one during boiling but it could happen.
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